Naruto: Clash of Wills
by juusanninja
Summary: Rated T for authoress paranoia, possible cussing in later chapters and general angst and violence. A calculating enemy. A child prodigy. Jinchuuriki madness. A girl...who eats dango.   What more could you ask for?
1. Chapter 1

**/A.N/ NOTE: AFTER STORYLINE. Sasuke is in here because my friend L wanted him to be. He has not run away from Konohagakure or anything. His family has been killed by the villain, and not the entire clan. Just imagine Sasuke without a family and without his stupid-ass stuck-up "I'm going to run away" attitude, 'kay? ENJOY!**

**DISCLAMER: I do not claim ownership to any of the content of Naruto,. This story is my own, nonprofit fanfiction. Do not steal it or repost it. Linking to it-ask my permission please. Oh, and support Naruto by buying it and/or watching the episodes and manga, because it's just that awesome!**

* * *

><p>"GET IT OFF!" Reki tried to shout through the mass of dog sitting dilligently atop her head. She swallowed more wet dog hair than she would have liked. She flailed and whacked the dog's haunches to no avail. She had not been taught any escape-from-rabid-man-eating-ninja-hounds jutsu, so she was on the whole somewhat unprepared for this kind of situation...<p>

A boy of about eight came racing up to the two girls. "Hey! Hey!"

The ninja hound stood to attention, allowing Reki time to escape. She scrambled back to Akira, who was laughing.

"What?" Akira giggled, leaning on her friend's arm, trying to get her breath back.

"Akira and Reki?"

"Yes."

The boy shuffled his feet and looked at Kiko. The ninja hound barked and bounded towards the boy. Instead of bowling him over as she would have done with anyone else, she rolled at his feet and begged to be pet.

"She's my dog," he said coyly. "Sorry if she bothered you."

Reki smothered an irritated reply. "It's fine," she said, stopping herself from adding, "I'm used to it by now, thank you very much."

The boy, who wore a thick (and unnecessary) coat over a green tunic and long black pants, gestured for his dog to get up. Kiko bounced up and followed the boy as he walked away.

Before the boy was out of their hearing, he turned around and added, "Oh, I forgot. Lady Hokage wants to see you." Then he left, with Kiko hard on his heels.

Akira turned to Reki, an unspoken smile on her face. "Want to race?"

"You'll lose!"

Akira grinned. "I so won't."

Reki raced off without waiting for her partner. She shouted over her shoulder, "Gotta think like a ninja, Aki!"

Akira smirked, running up a tree, using the chakra running through her veins to push off each one, finally catching up to her partner.

Reki jumped up into the same tree and ran alongside her partner. The Hokage's dwelling came into sight quickly, and shadow of unease flickered in Reki's stomach. Why would Tsunade want to see them? Tsunade had aged-it was a widely known fact that she only had a few more years left. Her companion, Shizune, had long since retired from being a medical specialist and spent most of her waking moments beside the Hokage, savoring what could very well be their last days together. No matter how hard the elders pushed, Tsunade would not resign and let the next generation take over. She was determined to lead the village until the end of her life.

Aki glanced at her partner, reading her emotions. "Do you want to stop? Just so we don't look like children..."

"Compared to them, we are, you know," Reki said, but slowed her pace and hopped off the tree. She had great respect for the elderly Hokage and did not relish the thought of making a fool of herself in front of the leader of her village.

Aki folled her partner's lead, both of them walking solemnly through the large red gates. A tower that looked larger from the outside was planted in the center of the large courtyard, like an oversized flagpole proclaiming leadership over the Leaf.

They walked up the stairs that twisted up the side of the small monster, finally reaching a small door. Upon opening it, a hallway was found. Three doors down, there was a pair of double doors.

Aki looked to her partner as if reassuring herself. Tsunade was known to be short tempered...

Reki pushed through the doors, thinking along the same lines as her friend, trusting that the fact that Tsunade had summoned them would ensure the Hokage would keep her temper under control.

The doors swung open with barely a nudge from Reki's fingers. Tsunade sat behind a desk, once penetrating brown eyes now nearly white with blind spots. Shizune sat on a cushion in the corner of the room, dozing. Reki realized it would not be long now before an eager challenger made an attempt on the leadership of Konoha-and it would not be as hard as it was to win.

Tsnuade's face was wrinkled, and her chakra levels had declined as her age had gone on. Her hands were gnarled and twisted and there were scars on them from numerous fights. The green mark on her forehead still held what chakra she had stored up during her younger days, waiting for the day in which they would be used.

"I won't give you any mush about how lucky you are to be here," Tsunade croaked, eyes locking onto them even though she could not clearly see them. The effect was unsettling. "I'm going to tell you why you are here and how you are to do this."

Reki gulped. From the sound of Tsunade's voice, this was not going to be a jovial talk.

Akira took a deep breath, preparing for the inevetable lecture...

"One week ago, two chuunin-level, and one jonin level, were sent out to investigate mysterious reports of konoha headbands, unregistered ninja.

Normally this mission would take three-to-four days. But, they haven't returned in over a week.

"I want you two, and another member, to go and see what's happened.

I know you are used to being in a two-cell team, but because of the danger of this mission, I want another one to come along. Any objections?" She eyed them sternly with her white-specked iris. "Good. You will be given details."

She gestured to the door. "Head to the main gate. I have assigned a temporary member to your cell. A messenger awaits you at the gate to give you the mission details, how long it should take, the requirements, what risks to take and which ones to avoid. Leave."

Reki made herself look calm and composed. It was harder than she had first imagined. Two chunin cells... one jonin cell... both gone? What would happen to one three-man cell with far less experience than jonin? Weren't they sure to fail?

Feeling it would be best not to question Tsunade, Reki made an awkward bow and walked out of the room, dragging Akira behind her. She opened the door as calmly as she could, closed them carefully, and then wrung her hands.

"We're doomed!" she hissed.

Akira sighed. "Do we really have a choice?"

But in actuality, she was as freaked out as her friend. A jonin? Two chunin? How was that-

"Ahem."

Akira stopped suddenly at her arm being tugged, and looking up, she found herself staring into a sharp nosed jonin's face. She stammered an apology and stumbled back, pulled by Reki.

"Ahem. Well." The jonin cleared his throat. "Clear out. Others may want to see the Hokage too."

Without further ado he shoved the pair along until they were nudged rather forcibly outside.

Reki looked at Akira. She tugged her hair and clasped and unclasped her hands. "I guess we should get going to the gate," she said nervously.

Akira and Reki nervously walked out of the gates, both tense and slightly disturbed.

A messenger was posted there, ready with several papers.

"Reki Fuma, Akira Kurama?"

"Yes" They answered at the same time.

"Your teammate."

"Hello." He seemed a bit reserved.

The two girls introduced themselves and all turned to the messenger.

"The jonin disappeared to the east of the land of fire. The "konoha" ninja were also reported being spotted slightly to the west of that point. At coordinates..."

Reki and Akira nodded. The messenger reiterated the coordinates and then packed up his papers. He nodded to each of the three of them. "Good luck to you all." Then he jogged back into the village.

There were a few seconds where Akira and Reki stared down the new member. Having a new person thrust into their midst, and expecting them to get along just fine, was a clear show of high expectations, in Reki's opinion. The stranger turned and started walking, hardly seeming to care about the obvious uncertainty in the air. Reki shrugged. She knew teamwork was essential, but until the stranger did something to make him worthy of being accepted as a teammate, she wasn't convinced.

Sasuke turned back slightly. "You two ready?"

They nodded.

Springing up onto a tree, the three jumped from branch to branch, until the pattern was burned in Aki's mind: Branch, leaves, branch, leaves...every once in a while a bird would fly out of the twigs, but naturally it didn't surprise the ninja, they hopped on.

They went through the trees in silence, heading in the vague direction of their mission as they had been instructed to by the messenger. The sky darkened and the sun set. When the last glimmer of light sank beneath the horizon, Akira and Reki jumped off the tree at the same time, agreeing on one camping spot without even having to talk to each other. Sasuke landed a little ways off when they stopped tree-hopping.

Quietly and swiftly Reki found a good tall tree. She used her chakra and climbed up, picking out a good branch upon which to sleep. She took her pack she had collected before leaving the village and rummaged around in its depth. Eventually she pulled out a folded demon shuriken (big shuriken, whatever they're called) and jammed it in the tree, where it would be easily accessible in case of a skirmish. Then she sat on the branch, crossed her legs, rummaged in the pack some more, and chewed gingerly on a traveling cake made of nuts.

Akira coughed once as she collapsed on the tree branch. Quietly, she pulled a ninja blanket around her thin shoulders.

After she had relaxed her muscles for a few moment, she got a few branches and laid them out on a pronged one. Spreading the blanket out, she laid down on one half and used the other to cover herself. Rummaging, apiece of dried jerky was discovered. Faint munching was heard as Aki ate it, then, a few moments later, the sounds of sleep.

Reki looked down at Sasuke. It took her a moment to find him sitting in a low tree, taking what she assumed to be the first watch. She did not feel safe without her or Akira watching over their site. But, if she was ever going to accept another team member, she would have to let it go unless given a reason not to. "Goodnight, Akira."

"_snuffle._"

"Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Mmh-hmm.

She dozed, setting her internal alarm clock to wake her up in several hours for the next watch. She automatically adjusted later for Akira's poor health-as she had gotten used to it long ago-making her watch longer so that Akira's would be shorter.

* * *

><p>When she did arise, it was still the dead of night, around two. Before she stirred she checked her surroundings. Nothing hiding out of the corner of her eye or clinging to a tree branch. Her shuriken was right where she had put it. Akira was where she had been, and Sasuke was still there.<p>

Pulling her demon shuriken out of the tree, Reki hopped gingerly down from the tree, sliding down the trunk and landing quietly on the ground. She walked over to where Sasuke was standing guard and nodded, signaling she would take over.

Sasuke nodded back and gracefully hopped up to the tree branch which Reki had slept in, and with hardly a crackle settled down into the bed she had made.

Pulling her demon shuriken out of the tree, Reki hopped gingerly down from the tree, sliding down the trunk and landing quietly on the ground. She walked over to where Sasuke was standing guard and nodded, signaling she would take over.

Sasuke nodded back and gracefully hopped up to the tree branch which Reki had slept in, and with hardly a crackle settled down into the bed she had made.

Reki narrowed her eyes and stared intently into the darkness. She believed in being a dilligent guard and prided herself on never falling asleep or doing something equally idiotic during a watch.

For more than an hour nothing stirred. The bushes were still and leaves hardly rustled. Akira mumbled in her sleep and Sasuke was dead quiet. Reki turned her head and scanned the horizon for what felt like the hundredth time. Nothing new. At least, she didn't think there was anything new. She understood that just because she couldn't see something didn't mean it wasn't there.

There was the smallest of cracks behind her. Reki stared fixedly ahead, making sure not to make any movements that would tell whatever was approaching she had heard it. Casually she leaned on her demon shuriken. Her clan, the Fuma clan, were skilled in fighting with such weapons. Even if she had to engage in close combat, she could use a folded shuriken to defend herself just as well as she could a flying one.

The moon glinted off metal, right below her. She waited, trying to divine the purpose of the approaching figure. A kunai knife was in its hand. Just from that, she could tell it did not have a friendly purpose at all. The figure began to creep up the tree, scaling it with almost inhuman silence and speed. Reki saw its eyes in the darkness. The pupils were looking at her direction. She feigned sleep, but slowly tightened her grip on her shuriken's handle.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N/ Hope you enjoyed!**

**~D.A.**


	2. Chapter 2

The knife was drawn back and the hand around it was white. It came forward with stunning speed and would have skewered Reki had she not jumped down from the branch. At the last possible second her hand flew up and grabbed the branch. Her shuriken clinked open and she made a shree that resembled the call of a barn owl from where she hung under the branch-a signal she had made up to signify imminent attack.

Akira sprang up, made a silent cough, almost a gag, and spang behind a tree, as metal clashed against metal beyond. She mentally went over her powerful genjutsu, took a deep breath, and began making the complicated handsigns. "Boar, hare tiger Dragon!" she chanted under her breath.

Slowly, the world twisted around her. She centered the twisting on the glowing form of light that used to be the enemy, and pushed.

The enemy cried out as a kunai knife struck him in this dream word. Then another. And another. And another.

Akira smiled slightly, her blue eyes glowing in a manical rage that slowly took her over.

She sent five kunai into him at once, spinning and twisting as she sent another five shuriken. And more kunai. The enemy was attacked from all sides, this time screaming in agony as she hit sensitive pressure points in his neck and legs. She stopped suddenly, surprised at what she had become...

She broke away from the genjutsu, slowly kneeling to the ground from the strain.

The enemy sank to the ground as well, traumsitized from the pain of the virtual reality.

Reki swung up from beneath the branch, shuriken still unfolded. The enemy wasn't dead, but the genjutsu had done its duty and disabled him. She looked at Akira. The mental attack had been harsh, harsher perhaps than had been required. The enemy might be unconcious for an hour simply from the illusion.

Reki wondered if the attacker could have been one of the ninja they had been sent out to find. She saw no Leaf headband, but rather an odd mark scratched into the attacker's forehead. It seemed to be a crude combination of all five of the Shinobi village's symbols. There was a dash at the top for the Sand, a cloud-like mark for the village hidden in the Clouds, a triangle for the Leaf, and circle for the Stone, and a wavy line for water. Through these marks ran a single deep line.

Maybe this was not the one they had been sent to find, but it definitely wasn't someone to be put aside lightly.

Reki grabbed the attacker and dragged him off the branch. He fell and thumped into a pile of ferns. She jumped down and started to bind their would-be-attacker to the trunk. Glancing around uneasily, she stepped away. Their attacker could have a cohort lying in wait nearby, ready to spring out should the first attacker not return. They had to move quickly.

Akira nodded at the others, and they nodded back. Sasuke doused the fire and covered it with rocks, Reki cleared the trees of the beds, Akira sat around like an idiot. Sasuke, once finished, wated for Reki to do so. Once they were all done, they leapt into the trees, and the small group was gone.

From the bushes, another red eyed-attacker awaited.

He bared his fangs.

He would feast tonight.

Clawed hands curling into fists, he bounded into the forest after his prey. He sensed blood of those he had been ordered to hunt to extinction-blood thick with chakra. His inhuman speed made it possible for him to match and, should he wish it, outrun his current prey. But no, he was not going to outrun his prey. He was going to kill his prey the moment they stopped moving and laid their heads down to rest.

The threesome left their first campsite far behind and ran until dawn, still heading in the direction they had been told to by the messenger. Unaware of the tracker running nearly directly beneath them, they halted when Reki and Akira nodded at each other. Reki did not regret totally leaving Sasuke out of the team. Nothing had made her change her mind about letting him truly join in the team yet.

"We need to move stealthily," Reki said. "Otherwise other hunters'll be able to find us and attack us when we rest." Inside she worried. Why were their enemies on their trail? And what was with that odd sign on their attacker's head? They were supposed to be a nearly invisible unit to go in and observe the situation without attracting any attention whatsoever. The last part had already failed.

"We should stop running through the trees like chipmunks," Reki continued. "It might be better if we went more cautiously and didn't light fires when we camped, or left signs on the environment."

Sasuke grunted. "Of course, there is always the chance that they saw us leaving, adn are waiting for the moemnet to strike right now."

Akira nodded. "True. In that case, we should check around us.

"Let's not make it obvious," Reki suggested, lowering her voice to a mere whisper of breath and words. "We'll move on for a little and stop. Then we'll act like we''re foraging or something while we're looking for signs of enemy activity. If someone finds anything, they should seek out one of the other members and we'll regroup."

Akira nodded. Sasuke shifted, then quietly mumbled, "But, what if someone attacks one of us separately?"

Akira frowned. "I don't know...maybe..." She pulled two walkie talkies out of her magical bag. "Maybe these?"

Sasuke half smiled. "Yes, we should fuel up soon," he said loudly. "This is the last of our jerky."

"And we ate the last of our apples," Reki said, intentionally adding a tone of worry to her voice. "It hasn't even been twenty four hours and already we're losing suppiles. We need to forage."

Akira bit her lip. "I'll go over here! I think I can see some berries."

SAsuke smirked. "Is that the best you girls can do? I'm going to set some snares." With that, he bounded (shut up) off into the bushes.

Reki jumped down from the tree and began shuffling through them, looking for edible plantlife. One eye was on the fake task and the other was glancing about for enemies. She sensed Sasuke scanning one area and Akira plucking berries from a bush and eating them while turning her head casually to each side.

There was a crack, and a rustle in the bushes behind her. (yes I'm adding an overdose of action in)

A dog-like human came leaping out at her. She caught a glimpse of fangs and claws before it was on top of her. Kiko was the first thought that went through her mind but she immediately realized that this dog creature had no innocence in its purpose whatsoever. The claws tore down her side and she clamped her mouth shut to prevent a shriek of panic escaping her. She had never been put in this situation before.

She was pinned. The dog creature was raising its paw-hand again for another strike. Reki looked over to both her sides. Both hands were free, only for an instant.

There wasn't much to do a jutsu with, but it would have to do.

She began creating hand signs, doing complicated motions in mere fractions of a second. The paw seemed to descend in slow motion when at last she completed the sequence. She cupped her hands and a burst of wind rushed from their center, blowing the beast's face. It was gale-force winds and nothing to mess with. The beast's head was cracked back and it tumbled head over tail, landing with a thump on the ground but quickly rising again.

Reki shrieked and yanked her demon shuriken from her pack. The shuriken folded, she swung it wildly at the beast, slashing across its face and spraying blood.

By now Sasuke and Akira were alerted to the commotion. They rushed over, SAsuke turning his sharigan on. "Reki, to your left!"

But by the time Reki turned, it was too late. Another enemy rushed forward, spitting kunai towards Reki. Reki's eyes widened-

as she was shoved aside by Sasuke, as he deflected the kunai. He landed awkwardly on top of her, almost crushing her. "Are you alright?" he asked, moving off of her.

Reki shoved Sasuke away and jumped to her feet, knowing there was no time for awkward exchanges in the midst of battle. Suddenly it seemed as though there were too many enemies, coming from every direction. She unfolded her shuriken and threw it at one, who dodged it and grabbed it on its way back. Being prepared, Reki yanked out another shuriken and kept it folded in her hands to use as a close combat weapon.

Calm down, she thought. Examine the situation.

All the adversaries were human, except for the beast creature. all the human adversaries had the odd mark on the foreheads and held kunai knives. She could not see any shuriken in their arsenal, so they were suited for the close range battle, except for the one who had caught her own shuriken and was twirling it around experimentally. Reki flung out her arm holding the shuriken and slashed at the wolf creature againas it drew closer than she would have liked. It backed away before her shuriken could make contact and snarled, saliva drippng onto the ground.

She started making hand signs frantcally, aiming to do the same jutsu she had used on the wolf creature. A kunai flew and almost punctured her hand, missing her head by inches as well.

Another flew past Akira's hair as she tussled with several ninja. One had her hand pinned, so she couldn't do jutsu. She used the other hand, however, to throw out kunai with startling accuracy, several mounting themselves in the ninja's arms, one hitting a man-beast. sHe flew around, the other adversaries distracted, and freed her hand from the man who was holding it, stabbing him deep in the chest, not a vital point, but a dangerous one tat could possibly kill him if he bled enough.

[5:40:04 PM] GaHoole Tenten: There was a sudden ball of flame that burnt the attackers, causing their flesh to turn a roasted red color. The wolf beast, beginning to adapt to its preys' tactics, leaped back to avoid being scorched. Sasuke had used the precious moments when the attackers were focused on Reki to initiate his own jutsu.

Reki tried again to make the signs for the wind jutsu. It was one of her own creation and required mediocre amounts of ckara. She could do it over more than five times before draining noticeable amounts of her energy. Again a knife nearly punctured her hands. Had she not been making the sign of the tiger she would have been in some pain.

This time she did not hesitate because of the knife. She cupped her hands and the wind burst out, whistling and howling like a wounded wolf. It twisted around the enemies and carried them off their feet. The wolf creature dug its claws into the ground and stayed put.

Realizing that the longer the fight dragged on the more likely it was the wolf creature would entirely comprehend their tactics, and take advantage of them, Reki turned her attention on the main threat. She clicked open her demon shuriken and tossed it, aiming for the wolf's vulnerable throat. The wolf thing began to jump, but before its legs could entirely leave the ground the shuriken caught it in the chest. Blood and fur flew through the air and the wolf creature wailed in agony. Breathing heavily, it shook itself and dislodged the bloody shuriken, fury sparkling in its bright red eyes.

Akira leaped up and shoved two more ninja to the ground, trying to get to the beast that she knew was going to attack with a fury. SHe coldn't let that happen. Couldn't let that go too far-

Three more ninja fell as she fought her way towards Reki. No. She couldn't.

She snarled at another ninja. "Want some more?"

She gulped, but advanced. Akira made her Tiger Genjutsu, forming the handsigns almost in slow motion. Faster. Faster!

Akira was thrust into the realm of the mind once more as she tortured the ninja in that same state of glee thaat came from hearing the sounds of pain.

The ninja cried out in a spasm of pain, then fell to the ground, the genjutsu slowly fading. Akira almost collapsed from the strain of using her genjutsu, but she couldn't let herslef fall. She had to protect her teammates.

Dragging herself up, she ran towaards the beast with a war cry that rivaled a hawk's shree. The beast-man turned and snarled at her weak attemp, easily knocking her over. The beast salivated onto her face, it's foul breath a accent to the terror that Aki was feeling.

Then the wolf creature placed its claws on Akira's throat and stared at Reki, growling. Akira gasped for breath but no air could enter her lungs. Her eyes went hazy and the world grew fuzzy. Her breath rattled and grew quieter and quieter.

Reki ran to retrieve her demon shuriken and threw it at the wolf, who caught it in its jaws. Biting down hard, it cracked it in half and grinned, baring teeth hungry for blood.

By this time the other enemies were beginning to rise. The grouped around the wolf creature and advanced quickly on Reki and Sasuke. Reki bobbed her head but could not see Akira, yet inside her head she could a rasping breath, a nearly dead breath, crushed by a terrible force. Was she imagining Akira's breath... or was it something else inside her head?

Then for one second she was seized by a feeling of severe vertigo. The world spun like it was in a kaleidascope. It came back into focus, sharper than ever. She could see through the deepest shadows under the trees, see for miles around with little effort. The enemies hesitated, and she could read the signs in the way they moved. They saw something in her that had not been there before.

She see the breath of the wolf creature stirring the fur around its lips and see the inside of its eye through the pupil. This was true sight, she could feel it, and she loved it.

Another kunai knife came towards her. She could see it coming, predict its path without doing a single conscious calculation. She snatched it from the air and felt with surprise how strong her grip was. Then she observed the enemy. There. A weak target, who betrayed fear in his step. The weak enemies were always the ones to eradicate first.

The knife flew from her hand with strength she had never possessed before and struck down the incoming foe. Then she hurled herself into the crowd, kicking punching, essentially letting go of all sane thought. Her eyes protected her. Nothing, no leaf, no speck of dust, could get by her guard.

The foes fell to the ground and the wolf creature stepped away, fear replacing fury in its eyes. Reki meant to tell it off and give it some very menacing words but all that came from her throat was a torn shree, like that of an angered owl. The wolf creature backed away more quickly now, and still Reki advanced. She did not want to let her prey go.

Akira gasped for breath and coughed, her throat raw and sore. She felt like she couldn't move, like there was a weight on her chest, preventing her from breathing. A single breath filtered in, clearing her vision of stars and allowing her to watch the scene before her:

Blood. So much blood. And the feeling that rage, a uncontrollabel rage that filtered through the world, which was getting hazy again. Akira toko another halting breath. Sasuke stood frozen in the corner, holding a ninjain his fist, kicking upwards into his face. His foot was stuck there. Akira could tell he was afraid.

Reki screeched a horrible, terrifying scream that rent through Akira's ears. She shivered in the raw passion of it, the wild and beautiful scream of the owl.

An outline of wings stood upon Reki's back, her right eye round and yello. Her mouth had started to form into a terrible shape, and her hands and feet turning into claws. Blood dripped from her beak as the Beast twitched below her. Reki turned back to it and screamed again. The Beast whimpered once, and was silent. Slowly, Reki's eye started to turn back to normal, the outline of her wings fading. The aura that had surrounded her finally faded from the mottled brown and black that it had been, leaving a very drained and swaying Reki.

Faltering, Reki looked around her. Her sight was so much less than it had been a second ago, and she felt frail compared to the power she had felt moments ago. Her hands were covered in blood and its also on her face. She fell into a sitting position on the ground, dazed. The wolf creature was gone-or at least, the whole was. Reki turned her head away from the carnage in front of her. What remained of the wolf creature were bloody bits, some big, some small.

Had she done that?

She looked back at her teammates, who both met her gaze with wide, frightened eyes. She suddenly was afraid of herself. What would have had to come over her to make her wreak this much havoc?

She looked down at her bloody hands and tried to remember. But it seemed as if the memories had slipped away with the power. The only thing she knew-something unnatural had happened.

Nausea came over her. Her head spun and she flopped onto the ground, breathing hard and trying to focus on the sun stung her eyes but it was so much better than feeling the sickness in her stomach and the increasingly painful pounding in her head. Then her eyes rolled back in her skull and she passed out on the bloodstained ground.

"Reki?" Akira gasped. "Reki!" she screamed, but her voice gave out. "SAsuke, get her!" she whsipered hoarsely.

Sasuke shook his head, seemingly broken out of his trance.

He ran over to Reki and felt for her pulse.

Akira waited.

He didn't answer for a moment.


	3. Chapter 3

**/A.N./ I'm actually supposed to be doing homework right now, but I'm uploading this just for you lovely peoples! Hope you enjoy! **

**I won't be uploading for a few days, because L is gone for a few days. Once she's back, I'll upload more.**

* * *

><p>"She's alive," he told Akira.<p>

Akira sighed in relief, then coughed uncontrollably. "Akira? Akira!" Sasuke shouted. But Akira was gone, unconscious in her stressed-out brain and body.

* * *

><p>Akira woke later, an orange light peppering her vision. She opened her eyes. A fire? when had she-<p>

_Oh._

AKira felt her head, which was aching horribly. She moaned. Sasuke looked over. "Oh. You're awake," he observed.

"Yeah..." Akira whispered.

"Do you mind explaining what happened back there?" He raised an eyebrow.

Akira raised her head. Her mind was whirling, running to piece together what had happened. "That wasn't Reki's normal chakra," she said.

"I know that."

"And that usually isn't the way she normally acts," Akira murmured. She tried to raise her head but a headache pushed her back down. "She would have let that thing go, or knocked it out, or something. She never would have... torn it... apart." She shuddered. The gruesome memory was disturbing to say the least.

"That eye wasn't Reki's," Akira continued. "And Reki hasn't learned any jutsu to totally transform herself as far as I know." Then it hit her. Nothing that had happened would have happened if Reki had been Reki. And that chakra... the bloodthirstiness... the collapse...

How? Why? When? There was no other answer.

"She must be a jinchuriku," Akira whispered. "She must be."

Sasuke gave Aki a weird look. "How can you just say that?"

Akira propped herself up on one elbow, coughing. "I'm just following the signs..."

"But, what if you're wrong?"

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Aki snapped. Sasuke glared but said nothing. They were both silent, listening to Reki's harsh breathing.

Sasuke finally spoke up. "As team members, we should probably tell each other a bit about ourselves, yes?"

"I suppose," Aki reluctanly agreed.

"You first."

"I am AKira of the Kurama clan. My strengths are in genjutsu, and I am a bit...unwell, I suppose you could say."

"In what way?"

"Um..." Akira thought. That second glee that seemed to come over her while she was torturing? Defintely not normal...

"I guess both ways."

Sasuke looked a bit alarmed, but stayed quiet.

"And what about you?" Aki queried. She wasn't feeling like going into detail about her maniacal joy at the moment.

Sasuke's already dark eyes darkened. "I don't..." he began.

"I told you mine, now you have to tell me yours," Akira insisted. "We're teammates. And besides, you put the idea out yourself."

"I'm Sasuke...of the Uchiha clan...My whole family was murdered. Everyone. The only reason I'm not dead is because I was a coward and ran away while everyone else was being slaughtered." Sasuke said it bluntly. Then he rose and walked stiffly off, clearly unwilling to say anymore on the matter.

Aki sat, feeling a bit stunned. And guilty for prying into his past. Still, he had started it...

Aki couldn't imagine how it would be to lose her whole family, and she didn't want to. Her mother, her father, her brothers...

She shivered and sent that thought from her mind. She looked over to Sasuke, who was jamming Kunai and shuriken unfailingly into a tree a dsitance away. Poor Sasuke.

Reki started to stir. Akira quickly crawled over to her. "Reki? Reki!"

Sasuke walked casually over, but Akira could see he cared in spite of his extremely non-caring behavior. "Reki?"

Reki opened her green eyes-perfectly normal, to the relief of her partners. She groaned and slapped her hands on her head. "Where are we?" she muttered through her drowsiness.

"Still in the forest," Akira replied. "Away from where we fought, though."

Reki sat up and scrambled to her feet. She took a few steps and gazed drearily around. "Did you get my shuriken back?" she asked. "The one that wasn't broken?"

Aki furrowed her eyebrows. What?

Sasuke pulled something out from the bag and handed it to Reki. "Here." Her Shuriken.

"Thank you." Although Reki usually didn't show it, she was very attached to her shuriken. It was her favorite ninja tool and she was fairly talented at using them. "Thank you," she repeated. She opened her mouth to ask about what had happened to her during the battle, but there was a look in her partner's eyes that told her they would prefer not to talk about it. Still, she had to know.

"What happened back there?" she asked. "What did I do?"

Aki paused. "Well...you..tore the wolf...apart..."

Sasuke broke in. "We think you're a Jichuriki."

Reki comprehended the first thing. The second she did not.

"What?" she said increduously. "Just... What?" It was impossible!

Aki paused once again, glaring at Sasuke for presenting the question so soon. "Well...for one, your chakra...it was visible. And it changed color.

"For another thing, you had...wings. On your back."

Sasuke broke in. "They were more like outlines..."

Akira smiled at Reki, then turned violentely to Sasuke. "Shut up. Right now."

Sasuke glared back at her and snarled back, "I'm just trying to help! You don't have to-"

"No," Reki interrupted. Her eyes were wide and her face was draining of color. "Let her go on." She turned on Akira. "Demons are bloodthirsty," she said with a hint of desperation in my voice. "Did I... act... that way...?" She had to hear it from another mouth.

"Well...yes." Akira whispered. "You tore it...apart. Into a lot of pieces."

Reki grasped her shuriken so hard her knuckles were turning white. She turned and started walking. She stopped and it was visible that she was shaking. "No," she said. "I'm not. That was something else. I'm not. I'm not a demon." She glared at Akira. "I thought you would trust me more than that," she said accusingly. Then, before anyone could reply, she whirled and kept on walking towards the coordinates of their mission.

"We're being idiots," she said loudly and unkindly. "We're wasting time and acting like little children quarreling over imaginary places and imaginary things and imaginary demons." She picked up her pace and chakra-climbed up a tree, still holding her shuriken in an iron grip.

The threesome leapt from branch to branch for many hours without speaking. Every topic there was was closed. Akira could not pry into Sasuke's past, and neither Sasuke nor Akira could penetrate Reki's suddenly hard demeanor to speak with her about the possibility of being a jinchuriku. It was an unspoken law among teammates.

Mountains rose up on the horizon. The sun was still high in the sky, but Reki privately thought such colossal structures merited investigation. She kept these thoughts to herself until the mountains loomed over their heads, reluctant to speak with her partners unless entirely necessary.

When they paused to determine their location, Reki was surprised. They were only a little ways away from their goal, and, according to the coordinates given to them by the messenger, the base of this mysterious, unregistered Konoha-headband ninja was in the mountain range.

They hopped through the trees until they were standing on the area specified by the coordinates. It was a tall, nearly bare pine. There was a frost on the ground and the air held a chill. The clouds were gray and promised a storm.

"Let's camp here and take a look around," Reki suggested tersely. she jumped down from the tree, not caring if her teammates agreed with her or not. She was tired, tired of everything. Of the possibility she was harboring a demon, of jumping through trees, of being with teammates. All she wanted to do was rest and forget about the jinchuriku buisness.

Akira and Sasuke jumped down behind her. Reki ignored them. She viciously scraped out some of the frost and stomped her foot. "This is my bed." From the looks on her comrades' faces, she could tell she was being ridiculous, which she knew was already. It was a way to vent her feelings.

"You get settled and we'll leave." She thrust her folded shuriken into the ground and sat on top of it, back to her teammates. "Then we'll look for this weird Konoha headband ninja."

Akira sighed. She shook her head and flicked Sasuke. "Come here," she hissed.

Sasuke glared and looked back at Reki. "We'll be getting some bedding..."

Reki glared at him fiercly. Unfazed, he rolled his eyes and walked out with Akira.

* * *

><p>Once they were a sufficient distance away, she puched him in the jaw. He stumbled back a few feet, not prepared for her attack. "See what you did?" she hissed at him, furious.<p>

"What the hell was that for?" he hissed back, rubbing his jaw.

"You have to give her a break! You pushed her over the edge!"

"What? I just told her the facts!"

"Too soon!"

"I have the feeling if I had left it to you, then you would have never told her our suspicions!"

"Of course I would have!" Unconciously, their voices were rising.

"Yeah, right."

"I would have! Anyways, even if I would have put it off, I wouldn't have done it as harshly!"

"Harshly? Who being harsh-!"

"Ahem." Reki was sitting against a tree, tapping her foot and looking generally ticked off. "If you're going to go argue, at least tell me," she growled. "Don't keep even more things from me. Besides, if you haven't noticed, we're supposed to be spying, not arguing over imaginary stuff." She walked back to their camp-in-progress. "I'm going to get some stuff and we'll go," she said, sounding more tired this time. Tired-that was what she was beginning to feel. She determined it might be best if she stopped thinking about being a jinchuuriki altogether... until another incident aroused the issue again. If another incident occured at all.

She came back a minute later with her shuriken in her hand. Gesturing to the expanse of mountains and trees around them, she said "Which way do you want to go?" She forced an unconcerned expression on her face instead of the tight, tensed one she had held onto for the past hours. "I think if I was an "evil ninja", I would have a base higher in the mountains, so that when I'm attacked I can see the enemy coming."

Reki nodded. "Alright then. Maybe we could go east. Any objections?"

Akira shook her head. Sasuke shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

Akira coughed awkwardly. "Eh...I guess...higher?"

Sasuke snorted. "Yeah, Higher up seems good.

The squad set out. The frost cracked under their feet and scarce shrubs crackled as they brushed by. Reki kept her shuriken folded and in her hands the whole time. Briefly the memory of the sharp sight she had experienced while fighting the wolf creature came back to her, and she wished for it now. To see every enemy behind every tree, to spot every snowflake forming the icy coating on the ground, to see the rain drops forming the clouds. Just as quickly she pushed this thought aside. No! She could not think about that fight, or Akira's speculations might become true...

They hiked into the mountains. Each of them had done plenty of this during their days in the Ninja Academy, so the hiking itself wasn't the problem. It was the stress that came with the possibility of being ambushed at every second. At least at the Academy, you could pull out any time, or the teachers would come rushing to your aid should the simulation go too far. Here, out in the real world, the three could only depend on the team to keep them safe.

There was an animal trail that led to the eastern peak of the mountain. They hiked up this, careful to keep hidden from any prying eyes watching from above for intruders. They reached the peak unchallenged, their breath pluming in front of their eyes. Reki squinted and saw more mountains before them, covered in thicker snow. It would take many days to scour the entire hillside for traces of the enemy.

The sun was dropping. By the time they got back it would be twilight, when animals and unfriendly entities roamed the mountains. Reki was nervous about when night came. She no longer believed in being safe at any time while out on the field.

"L-let's go back," Reki said, her teeth clacking against each other. "If we want to keep going we can set out for an expedition tomorrow."

Reki turned around and started walking back towards camp. Akira and Sasuke followed in her wake. Reki noticed they weren't exchanging any words with her. She guessed they didn't want to stir her up any more than she already was. They had good reason not to want to.

The snowy path was slick and the air was ever colder. They all shivered on the way down, Reki leading them, Akira in the middle, and Sasuke coming up in the back as a rearguard.

The pine trees loomed on either side of the path, casting their shadows on the ground. The sun was setting faster than Reki had expected, and when she walked into the shadows it was hard for her to see where to place her feet.

Something stirred out of the corner of her eye. Her heart tightened in anxiety. What kind of creatures inhabited these mountains? Were there more wolf creatures, waiting to spring at them from out of the gloom?

The trees grew even thicker and Reki began to have doubts about their direction. She didn't remember going through such thick tree life on the way up. Yet-this was the same path. There was only one path.

Softly but surely, the ninja put her foot down, not making a sound. She would kidnap the one in front, yes. She would. And her parners would get the ones in back, yes.

They needed experiments, yes?

Slowly, she put a foot out in the pathway. This was her specialty. Blending in with the environment,

Yes?


End file.
